Growers bay for blood after Enza move

By PHILIPPA STEVENSON

agricultural editor

Apple growers stung by Enza's withdrawal of a promised multimillion-dollar windfall want to overturn the decision and sack the marketing organisation's chairman, John McCliskie.

The calls have come from across the grower spectrum - from members of the establishment Pipfruit Growers of NZ as well as from arch Enza critic the Independent Pipfruit Growers. But there has also been support for Enza's decision to top up fruit payments to this year's suppliers with up to $20 million of the proceeds from the 1998 sale of subsidiary Frucor Beverages, instead of paying it to shareholders whose company stake from April 1 will be based on historic supply.

Three major apple growers, who say they represent more than a third of the New Zealand crop, are reported to have backed Enza.

Mainland Apple and Nelson Fruit Services in Nelson and Eastern Equities in Hawkes Bay said Enza had put current apple suppliers on a competitive basis with independent export permit holders.

However, the chairman of listed company Grocorp Pacific, Grant Sinclair, said Enza's move was devious and dishonest.

"I'm sure [it] will be challenged because they have given this money out in a discriminatory manner.

"If you are a loyal supporter you will get it, if you are an organics exporter [using another company] you don't get a brass razoo."

Otago grower Stephen Darling, one of 27 members of the Pipfruit Growers forum, said: "Some vested interests in some quarters of the industry who have recently acquired extra production see personal gain from the change.

"That is driving the endorsement of the Enza directors to hang on to the money."

A recent survey of forum members had found broad support for paying the money in a lump sum as promised, he said.

Otago forum members are seeking industry opinion on their call for Mr McCliskie's resignation.

Enza plans to retain some Frucor funds to wipe debt resulting from foreign exchange losses and its disastrous investment in the defunct ship loader, Omniport.

Mr Darling said: "To me it's very clear that the losses, together with the cash benefit from Frucor, belong to growers at the end of 1999."

Mr McCliskie said Enza had changed its intentions for the capital distribution after learning that permits granted to independent exporters had surpassed the expected one million cartons and the permits committee was considering applications for another 1.18 million cartons.

The size of each grower's share of the $25 million lump-sum payment originally proposed would have depended on supply history, with some growers standing to get $30,000 and others about $100,000.

The secretary of Independent Pipfruit Growers, Van Howard, said a new industry structure, where growers pay their own pre-shipping costs instead of having them deducted from export returns, would leave many growers critically short of funds for three to five months.

"That $25 million was seen as the stopgap. Now Enza is saving itself but, I'm sorry, we are going to lose some of the boys."

Mr Howard said some growers were willing to give money to a legal challenge to the Enza decision.